There was an interesting thread about this on my MJ board..... http://mymjjforum.boards....hael-adult

MattyJam said:

I think it is great, and definitely believe his voice never stopped evolving. I still think rather controversially, his best vocal work is on Invincible (Only songwriting and craft was slipping, but the vocals), listen to them on songs like Speechless, Break of Dawn, Cry and Don't walk away - I mean wow his vocals just melt. Then again his vocals were always great.

.

In basic I divide his vocals into 4 periods.

.

1. Kiddie but soulful 1968 - 1973 (All J5 to Skywriter and Music and Me)

2. Teenage, mature sounding but still highish - 1974 - 1975 (Dancing Machine and Forever came today are good examples, mature, but it sound strained and its breaking)

3. Young adult, smooth with falsetto - lots of warmth 1976 - 1985, Great here and Show you the way to go, is a good example of 17/18 year old Michael trying out that warm adult voice he had through OTW and Thriller.

4. Mature adult 1986 - death, as above, but less falsetto, more growly vocals - especially Bad onwards, lots of Shmons and Aows!! Melisma, rock vocal, sexy ballad vocals and talking in songs (Will you be there etc).

.

I could go on for ages, but his voice was liquid gold, it had warmth, power and just grabbed you.

smoothcriminal12 said:

In my opinion, Michael Jackson had one of the most unique and eccentric voices in pop music and I am continuously intrigued by his transition from being a traditional but brilliant child singer to an aggressive, biting and almost manic vocalist as an adult. Sure he had his softer moments on his ballads, but for the most part he sang his uptempto songs with this angry, strained grit (I say this in a positive way, I love it). Much is made of Jackson's dancing and influence on popular music, but why hasn't his voice been studied as closely? I would love to read a book on his technique and influences and how his voice evolved throughout his decades-long career. And furthemore, I'd love to hear what sone of you think of his voice.

Adorecream said:

I think it is great, and definitely believe his voice never stopped evolving. I still think rather controversially, his best vocal work is on Invincible (Only songwriting and craft was slipping, but the vocals), listen to them on songs like Speechless, Break of Dawn, Cry and Don't walk away - I mean wow his vocals just melt. Then again his vocals were always great.

.

In basic I divide his vocals into 4 periods.

.

1. Kiddie but soulful 1968 - 1973 (All J5 to Skywriter and Music and Me)

2. Teenage, mature sounding but still highish - 1974 - 1975 (Dancing Machine and Forever came today are good examples, mature, but it sound strained and its breaking)

3. Young adult, smooth with falsetto - lots of warmth 1976 - 1985, Great here and Show you the way to go, is a good example of 17/18 year old Michael trying out that warm adult voice he had through OTW and Thriller.

4. Mature adult 1986 - death, as above, but less falsetto, more growly vocals - especially Bad onwards, lots of Shmons and Aows!! Melisma, rock vocal, sexy ballad vocals and talking in songs (Will you be there etc).

.

I could go on for ages, but his voice was liquid gold, it had warmth, power and just grabbed you.

These are great posts. Thank you.

I need to pull out my MJ records again. It's been too long.

[Edited 9/29/17 16:20pm]

[Edited 9/29/17 16:21pm]

Adorecream said:

I love you for this thread.

For me, this is one of Mike's best vocal performances

and also

[Edited 9/30/17 10:53am]